Though I am not your mother, you will always be my baby!
No matter how many years you have lived, the summation of your life is ALWAYS in moments. A lot of these moments are usually made up of ‘first-times’. The first-time I am going to share with you today is not one of the clichés. Today I am going to talk to you about the ‘first-time’ I became an aunt. A baby boy, Ma’ad.
While there is an obvious overwhelm of emotion associated when a woman becomes a mother, I don’t know why being an aunt is never looked upon as much. From the moment I found out to the moment I heard his first-cry, I have counted every single day and dreamed every single night with my sister towards his birth. And when finally I heard him, saw him, held him – a dam broke. I felt as much a mother as my sister.
You can’t replace the bond of a mother and a child. Of course, I know that. But then there is something very special about the bond between an aunt and her niece/nephew too. Especially, when you don’t have your own kids yet. He is your baby too. He is mine.
When couples become parents, they love their child with their heart and soul, but that is not all they feel. They also see their incomplete dreams in their child. They are insecure – have they gotten enough money to fulfil his every wish, will they be able to raise him right, will they be able know when he needs to be punished or not, will he be smart enough, will he be spoilt…the list is endless. I am not saying that the love parents have for the kid is any less, but there are definitely a lot of other emotions at play there.
Being an aunt; it is the most awesome title in the world (even if you are Miss Universe it is just for a year). My love for my nephew is unadulterated. There are no other emotions there. I find it so much easier to believe in him; to believe that only the best will happen to him. I am sure that he will be a great kid with a brilliant mind. Aunts just see and believe the best in their kids.
Because I am not worried about saving for his future, I won’t think twice before indulging him. Because I believe he can do anything, I will always encourage him. Because I love him so much, I know he will love me back and never leave me. Because I trust him so much, I know he will feel safe with me. Because I don’t wish to see my incomplete dreams fulfilled by him, I will believe in his own dreams.
In Indian culture, aunts are called ‘MASI’. It means mother-like. There couldn’t be a better name really. There is nothing an aunt won’t do; nothing ‘I’ won’t do that my sister would do for my nephew. A love like this is so precious – one without any expectations. It is your blood, a part of you, a purer self of you – untouched. It is you reborn!
A baby sometimes can overwhelm a mother, because she loves her too much. But for me, it has always brought me to equilibrium. When I look at him and he shoots a toothless grin at me, in that moment, my world is a happy place. All the troubles just melt away. Being an aunt brings so many aww moments in your life that I feel less of an aunt and more of an AWWnt!
Alefia loves to see life in metaphors. An ardent foodie, she blogs and does poetry when she is not working, or working too much. Die-hard romantic and self-proclaimed ‘most empathetic listener in the world’, she believe she can do a world of good to anyone who needs advice, especially when it comes to love!